Modi handing PSUs to his two ‘Ishtaratnas’ from Gujarat: KTR slams Centre

Hyderabad: Telangana industries minister K.T. Rama Rao has accused the Central government of conspiring to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and handing over the mining contract to the Adani Group.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, KTR accused the Central government of working against Telugu states.

He said, “If the BJP government was really committed to saving public sector undertakings, the Bailadilla mining contract should be awarded to Bayyaram and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).”

The minister also pointed out that the BJP government had previously claimed that setting up a steel plant at Bayyaram was not feasible due to low-grade iron ore quality. Towards this, the state government had suggested laying a 160 km slurry pipeline from Bailadila to Bayyaram, with the state government agreeing to bear 50% of the expenditure, KTR said.

He also questioned the feasibility of transporting ore to Adani Group’s plant at Mundra in Gujarat, which was 1,800 km away, when transportation to Bayyaram and VSP was supposedly not technically feasible according to the BJP government.

The minister alleged that the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has been pushed into losses and that the plant is being privatised only for Adani and that the eyes of Adani and Central officials have fallen on Bailadilla mines. He also alleged that it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy to show losses and sell them cheaply to friends.

The minister further said, “Handing over the Navratna PSUs to his two Ishtaratnas from Gujarat is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing. It seems like socialisation of losses and privatisation of profits is their ideology, which CM KCR has been repeatedly saying.”

The minister also demanded that the Union government abolish the Bailadila mining contract in Odisha awarded to the Adani Group, saying that if the contract was awarded to Bayyaram, it would generate employment for local youth and revenue for the Telangana government.

Despite the state government’s repeated appeals to set up a steel plant at Bayyaram, the Union government was not considering the requests, even after an assurance made under the AP Reorganization Act, according to the minister.

“The state government was committed to saving PSUs and already a team of senior officials was sent to Visakhapatnam to study the Expression of Interest floated by SAIL. Based on their reports, the state government would take a final decision,” he said.

Minister KTR also highlighted the state government’s commitment to safeguarding PSUs by placing orders with BHEL and extending insurance coverage through LIC for the Rythu Bima and Nethanna Ku Bima Scheme, despite a provision of placing orders with private companies.